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Invention of the Microscope
Robert Hooke coined the term "cells" and Anton Van Leeuwenhoek observed the first microorganisms due to the invention of the microscope -
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Before DNA
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Discovery of inheritance in plants
Gregor Mendel discoverd the simple laws of inheritance of traits that allowd one to predict the outcome of crosses with certain traits in plants -
Fermentation, Microbiology, and Germ Theory
Louis Pasteur described the scientific basis for fermentation, wine making, and the brewing of beer, established the science of microbiology, and proposed the Germ Theory, claiming that microorganisms were responsible for infectious diseases. -
Discovered DNA might be inheritable
Johann Miescher found nucleic acid in white blood cells from pus in bandages. This later led scientists to believe DNA might be the inheritable material of an organism. -
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DNA Science
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Discovered genes are chromosomes
Studying fruit flies, Thomas Hunt Morgan discovered that genes were on chromosomes. -
Genetics could be moved from one strain to another
Fred Griffith, using mice, provided that genetic material could be moved from one strain of bacteria to another. -
Isolated penicillin to develop drug ideas
Sir Alexander Fleming isolated penicillin from a fungus. Many of his ideas are used to develop biotechnology drugs today -
A=T, C=G
Chargaff showed that in DNA the number of units of adenine equaled those of thymine and the number of units of cytosine equaled those of guanine. -
One gene produces one enzyme hypothesis
Beadle and Tatum proposed the "one gene produces one enzyme" hypothesis -
esablished completely that DNA was hereditary
Avery,McCarty, and McLeod established that indeed DNA was the hereditary material that was transformed. -
Viruses replicate using DNA
Using the famous "blender experiment," Hershey and Chase proved viruses replicated using DNA and confirmed the role of DNA as the hereditary material. -
DNA is double helix
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins established through x-ray crystallography that DNA was indeed a double helix. -
Structure of DNA
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA -
Discovered circular DNA
Hayes discovered plasmid DNA, circular pieces of DNA found in bacteria -
Mechanism of gene expression
Walter Gilbert discovered the mechanism of gene expression through his study of messenger RNA. -
Bacterial restriction enzymes cut DNA
Arber, Nathans, and Smith discovered bacterial restriction enzymes that cut DNA -
Discovered 64 codons
Khorana and Nirenberg discovered the 64 codons (the triplet code of 3 bases in DNA) that code for the 20 amino acids making up proteins -
DNA plasmids were isolated
DNA plasmids were isolated and purified by Vinograd. -
First transformation of Escherichia coli
Madel and Higa were responsible for the first transformation of the bacterium Escherichia coli. -
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Recombinant DNA Technology and Beyond
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Cloning experiments were conducted
Cloning experiments were conducted by Boyer and Cohen. -
Genetech was founded
Genentech, the world's first genetic engineering company, was founded. -
Guidelines for work with recombinant DNA
140 scientists met to draw up guidelines for work with recombinant DNA in microorganisms. Paul Berg was a knew organizer. -
Found a way to sequence DNA
Sanger and Gilbert found a way to sequence DNA. Given an unknown piece of DNA, they were able to read the correct order of bases of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. -
Synthetic insulin into E. Coli
Boyer inserted a synthetic insulin gene into E. Coli -
Fingerprints were identified by DNA
Botstein found that one could be identified by the pattern make of one's DNA through a digest by different enzymes. This DNA fingerprint was called a Restriction Fragment Lenght Polymorphism (RFLP) -
First baby from vitro fertilization
Louise Joy Brown was born, the first human baby resulting from in vitro fertilization, in which sperm and egg are joined in a petri dish. The fertilized egg is later implanted in a womb. -
Court ruled genetically altered life forms can be patented
The U.S Supreme Court ruled that genetically altered life forms can be patented. This resulted in a huge startup of biotech companies. -
First transgenic animals
Ohio University scientists made the first transgenic animals. -
Place a human insulin gene inside bacteria
Eli Lilly Company placed a human insulin gene inside bacteria -
Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer
Schell, Chilton, Van Montagu, Fraley, and Horsch transformed plants with Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. -
Invention of polymerase chain reaction
Kary Mullis invented polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA in the laboratory. -
DNA profiling to study of criminal cases
Jeffries applied RFLP in DNA profiling to the study of criminal cases. -
Invented an automated fluorescence sequencer
An automated fluorescence sequencer was invented speeding up the labor-intense process. -
First use of a gene gun
Genes were moved into an organism through the use of a gene gun. -
Revised safety guidelines for recombinant DNA
NIH revised safety guidelines for recombinant DNA to include plants grown in greenhouses and animals raised in barns. -
Discovered RNA interference
Andrew Fire and Craig Mello discovered RNA interference, slicing of genes, in the worm C. elegans. -
Monoclonal antibody technology
Kohler, Milstein, and Jerne used monoclonal antibody (MAb) technology. -
Yeast Artificial Chromosomes
Maynard Olson and colleagues at Wasington University invested "yeast artificial chromosomes," or YACs, which are expression vectors for large proteins. -
Dolly the sheep is cloned from adult cell
Ian Wilmut cloned Dolly the sheep from an adult cell of a ewe at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. -
DNA chip was developed
DNA microarray (DNA chip) technology, looking at the expression of all the genes of an organism at one time on a microscope slide of silicon chip, was developed. -
Invention of automated DNA sequencer
Dabiri and Garner invented an automated DNA sequencer that had a caoability of sequencing 76,800 base pairs per hour, 5 to 30 times faster than existing sequencers. Technology like this greatly sped up the Human Genome Project. -
Riboswitch
Ron Breaker coined the term riboswitch for part of an mRNA molecule that can regulate its own activity and therefore gene expression. -
Human Genome Project
Announcement was made of the completion of the Human Genome Project by Francis Collins and Craig Venter. The project provided the ability to find genes and give rise to the sequencing of other genomes
